Your Smile
by buchinyawn
Summary: Todoroki wouldn't give up living in the Yuuei dorms for the world, but sometimes memories of his old home resurface, and all of a sudden, he reverts back to his former distant, unsmiling self. Midoriya isn't blind to this, and he'd do whatever it takes to bring a smile back to his face. Also, why can't Todoroki stop thinking about freckles...? (cross posted on ao3)
1. Chapter One - 3 AM Tea

Todoroki awoke with a start, frost covering the right side of his face. Breathing rapidly, he wiped the sweat off his brow and melted the ice with a swipe of his right hand, then sat up in his bed, looking around. Relief spread through his body and he relaxed, somewhat. He wasn't in his old home. His father wasn't here. He was safe.

Gingerly, he reached for his phone to check the time - 3:24 a.m. Well, he's not getting back to sleep anytime soon. Might as well do something to occupy himself.

He descended the stairs as quietly as he could, the last thing he wanted was someone like Ashido or Kaminari to wake up and bombard him with questions. He didn't dislike them, not at all, but he just didn't want to be around anyone - especially not someone who'd bother him trying to get all the details of why in the world he'd be awake this time of night on a school night. The only person he'd be grateful to spend time with at the moment would be someone like Tokoyami or Koda since they'd respect his boundaries and offer quiet but pleasant company. He would rather do anything but talk about his personal problems.

Todoroki rounded a corner into the kitchen and stopped abruptly in his tracks. Midoriya was clutching a mug with what he assumed was tea, his posture tense as he appeared to be startled by the taller teen entering so abruptly.

Midoriya could kind of be added to the short list of people he trusted not to pry into his problems, Todoroki thought bemusedly. Sure, he was the one who sacrificed his body and victory back in the Sports Festival just to get change Todoroki's entire outlook on his Quirk and his father, the main sources of trauma in his life… But he was a great friend, despite his nosy yet kind-hearted nature.

Todoroki mumbled a quiet greeting to the green haired teen, opened a cupboard and fished around for a mug for himself. Truth be told, Midoriya was without a doubt his closest friend at Yuuei. Since the Sports Festival, Todoroki has felt nothing but gratitude towards him; now, when he uses his fire, he doesn't see the image of his father's flames burning intensely, he doesn't feel his skin searing as it burned, he doesn't hear the distressed cries of his mother. At least, not all the time.

Right now, as he heated his cup of tea with his left palm, he winced and nearly dropped it as he saw Endeavor's disapproving scowl in his mind. He thought to himself, _Don't let Midoriya see you like this. He may be _good_ company but you don't need him worrying and meddling again._

"Todoroki-kun? Is everything okay...?" He spoke up, voice soft and curious. "Why are you awake so early?"

Todoroki finished making his tea and he sat down across from his classmate, avoiding eye contact as his hair partially swept over his eyes. "It's nothing. I could ask you the same thing, though, Midoriya." He replied in a flat tone, sighing. Midoriya pouted, wishing for a reply. Todoroki shifted his gaze to look at him when he didn't reply, and he considered spilling the tea - metaphorically, of course - when he saw his friend's freckled face frown in such a cute way.

Cute...? What?

He averted his eyes as his mind suddenly went on red alert. Cute? Seriously? Where'd that even come from? He'd never thought of anyone as cute before.

Todoroki supposed he was just tired and delusional.

Before going to Yuuei, Midoriya spent his free observing heroes and villains. He took notes on every detail possible, thoroughly analyzing each situation and ensuring it was preserved in his mind by documenting it in his dozen or more notebooks.

He didn't miss a single detail.

He deduced that something was wrong with Todoroki the minute he entered the room.

Midoriya had hoped that offering a pouty frown might get him to indulge the details on what was upsetting him but to no avail. Sighing, he fumbled with the strings of his hoodie. "We're friends, Todoroki-kun, I don't like seeing you upset..."

He sighed deeply, then met his eyes again. "Fine. You tell me why you're awake, and maybe I'll... Consider talking about it. I don't particularly want to."

Midoriya then began to frantically wave his hands about in front of his face. "I-um! I-It's nothing like that! I mean, you didn't even i-imply anything, I mean, u-uh, I just have trouble sleeping s-sometimes, I, um, tried to sleep earlier, b-but couldn't, so I just came downstairs s-so I wouldn't be bored, uh..."

"I understand. You won't tell me, so I won't tell you either." Todoroki said coldly, pun unintended, then stood up suddenly as his chair screeched loudly on the floor. He had no intention of spilling his feelings out in the first place, and he certainly wasn't in the mood to listen to lies. Midoriya stood up after him, latching onto his arm before he could walk away. He wouldn't let him leave, not before fixing things. They can't have their friendship left off on a sour note, after all. "Don't get the wrong idea, Todoroki-kun! I'm sorry for lying... I would tell you if I could. I promise."

Never before had Midoriya wished he could tell someone about One For All so much.

Todoroki, surprised by the sudden contact, gently pulled on his arm after listening to him. Midoriya quickly released it, and to his relief, the taller hero-in-training sat back down, so he followed his example. "And if you don't want to talk about it, then that's okay. I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything." Green eyes glinting in the light, he offered a small smile. "Just know that I'm always here when you need it, Todoroki-kun."

As the fire and ice user stared into Midoriya's shining irises, he felt a wave of ease come over him. His shoulders loosened and he seemed less stiff. A few minutes of comfortable silence passed between them as they both sipped their tea in an irregular yet routine pattern. Todoroki gazed at his friend as the other's eyes were focused on the inside of his cup, and studied him closely. He never noticed Midoriya's immense presence of freckles all over his face. The way his green curls framed the outline of his face. How his eyebrows scrunched downwards when he noticed a crumb on the table and brushed it off with a gentle swipe. Countless little details about Midoriya that he had somehow overlooked in the past.

Midoriya's bright green eyes suddenly met his mismatched grey and blue, and Todoroki looked away as fast as he could. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Midoriya returning his look curiously. "I don't think I properly said thank you after the Sports Festival." Todoroki began, confused as to why he had so much trouble keeping eye contact throughout the night. "You... You made things a lot easier to cope with. I've been able to ignore my father more than ever, which pisses him off, but that's a good thing. And... You were right. About not using all of my power. It was wrong of me to have such high goals but not even put a strong effort into it." He felt like rambling on a little more, but Todoroki figured he must have made his point already. "What I'm trying to say is... Thank you. For making the burden of my Quirk, and dealing with Endeavor, lighter." He found himself able to meet the dreaded emerald eyes yet again, only to see that they looked surprised.

Midoriya fiddled with his fingers, nervous at Todoroki's praise. "You don't need to thank me for anything, Todoroki-kun. All I did was reassure you, and you did the rest." The red and white hairs upon his friends head moved from left to right as Todoroki shook his head, but Midoriya continued to speak. "Besides, we shouldn't talk about this. You said you didn't want to, and I don't wanna force you or anything..."

Todoroki realized he was right - he had indeed said he didn't want to bring up what was on his mind. What was said moments ago was only a fraction of it, even. He began to wonder what made him bring it up in the first place, and he recalled what pushed him to.

"Sorry. I wasn't going to say anything, but I was just looking at you and I figured that I don't have anything to lose. You're a good friend, Midoriya." He spoke with absolute honesty, then raised his eyebrows in surprise at himself. Usually, his words were calculated and predetermined - yet he had let the fact that he was observing Midoriya slip.

Midoriya suddenly flushed a slight hue of red. Self-consciously, he brought his hands up to cover his cheeks. "You too, Todoroki-kun."

Not too long after, they parted ways, bidding each other goodnight before returning to their rooms.

As Todoroki crawled back into bed, he couldn't help but envision his friend's freckles, tinged with a rosy pink before being covered by his scarred yet gentle hands. Hands scarred for him.

What was going on with him? He had never thought about anyone like this before.

In the end, Todoroki supposed having someone as bright and happy as Midoriya on his mind so much might not be so bad.

* * *

A/N: Any feedback is greatly appreciated! I have also uploaded this fic to Archive of Our Own if you'd prefer to read there, under a different name (nessquik). As well, I am looking for a potential beta reader! Message me if interested!


	2. Chapter Two - Grape Flavoured

Uraraka was planning a party. A big one.

"Jirou-san, Kota-san! You guys are in charge of music! Kaminari-kun, can you and Tooru-chan pick out some movies for later? Sero-kun! You and Shoji-san gotta hang up decorations! Wait, Aoyama-kun, don't put the disco ball there-"

Living in the Yuuei dorms was definitely interesting, Todoroki realized not long after they moved. They had big parties once every month, and every other week they'd have some sort of movie night or smaller gathering. As long as they cleaned up after themselves, behaved correctly, and it didn't interfere with their studies, Aizawa said they could do whatever they wanted during weekends.

So of course, Uraraka, being the upbeat and outgoing girl she is, took it upon herself to plan this month's party. Ashido had planned the last one, and they had turned the party planning into a friendly competition between the two to see who could plan the best party. The brown-haired girl definitely was putting out all the stops to make this a great one as she got as many willing volunteers as possible to help out.

Todoroki was knelt down in front of a foldable table. Uraraka had asked him personally to make an ice sculpture for the snack and punch table, and he agreed. He wasn't really into parties, but he enjoyed participating in the activities, if somewhat quietly. He liked being around friends, after all.

Friends...

Todoroki's hands dropped to his sides as he admired his work. He hadn't used his Quirk for something so creative before but was relieved it turned out well. It was a sculpture of a three-dimensional star. As he melted the ice that had gathered upon his arm, he saw the gravity-defying Uraraka approach him. She was floating along the ceiling - Shoji had been chosen to hang up decorations with Sero's tape since he could extend his hands quite far, but it seemed that Uraraka was too eager to help and make sure everything was finished for seven o'clock tonight.

"Todoroki-san!" She called out cheerfully from above him. "That looks great, thank you! Could I ask you to run another errand, though?" Todoroki nodded, standing up. He was offered one of Uraraka's huge smiles. "Deku-kun is going to the general store to get Mineta-san some medicine, can you tag along with him and grab some snacks? I'll give you a list. Sorry to ask for so much!" She bowed her head in thanks, which looked odd as she was currently horizontal across the ceiling. Todoroki nodded yet again as he caught a small list of snacks and some money that she dropped, then turned around quickly and found he was directly face-to-face with green curls and a familiar collection of freckles. Todoroki's eyes went wide with surprise - where did he come from?

"Oh! Sorry to startle you, Todoroki-kun. Uraraka just texted me. Are you ready to go?" After recovering, he nodded. He was doing a lot of that today. As they walked towards the entrance and got dressed for the chilly autumn weather, the taller teen asked: "How did she manage to text you so quickly? I was looking at her that entire time, I didn't see her pull out her phone." Midoriya laughed, and Shouto thought that his laugh sounded quite pleasant. "That's just Uraraka-san. She has her ways."

"Hmm." He hummed, agreeing somewhat. She was unique - in a good way. One thing stood out to him from Midoriya's explanation, though. "I thought you and Uraraka-san were close. You don't call her Uraraka-chan, even though she calls you..." He paused for a moment, unsure if saying his nickname would be okay, despite him not actually referring to him as it. "Deku-kun?"

He caught Midoriya fumbling with his fingers again. He performed that ritual often, Todoroki noticed, then winced and looked away when he saw the crooked scars along his hands. "Uraraka-san is a good friend, I just... I feel like I should be respectful to her? She's a girl, and uh... I just feel more nervous around them?" Midoriya admitted, but he seemed unsure of himself.

Todoroki couldn't understand why he felt a pit in his stomach at that statement. He was glad that he trusted him with this knowledge, however, it seemed like it was embarrassing to admit.

"I understand. I don't really call people with anything besides formality. If it's with someone like you, then it's just your name. I trust that works fine." Todoroki spoke quietly, unable to comprehend why his disappointment seemed to grow.

Midoriya shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket, and Todoroki was glad not to have the painful reminder of his injury during the Sports Festival in his view. That, and it's good that his hands aren't cold. "I'm fine with anything, you know, Todoroki-kun." He looked up and to the side, directly into his eyes, and offered a trademark Midoriya smile. It wasn't anything compared to Uraraka's bright smiles - hers were nice, but they didn't make her eyes sparkle, they didn't form dimples on her cheeks that only made the freckles easier to notice, they didn't make him wish that he could offer a smile in return with just as much intensity.

And as soon as he was hit with the sudden wave of positivity, it was gone as Midoriya stepped through the automatic doors of the general store.

He wanted to see more of that blinding smile.

"So, medicine for our friendly neighbourhood pervert, right? What's ailing him this time? A nosebleed?" Todoroki commented as Midoriya browsed the bottles of medicine. The mop of green curls turned towards him in disbelief. Did Todoroki just... crack a joke...?

He burst out laughing, shaking his head eagerly as he did so. "No, he's caught a cold!" After he recovered, he had what seemed like a permanent smile, and Todoroki found his lips aching to offer a small smile as well. He fought it for a while but lost in the end. Midoriya picked out grape-flavoured medicine, which only made Todoroki's smile more authentic. Of course he would choose that.

They both strolled together around the store, picking up the collection of snacks that Uraraka had written in her messy scrawl - multiple kinds of chips, popcorn for the movie, soda, water, and an assortment of fruit and veggie platters with dips. As they paid for their purchase, took their bags and exited the store, Midoriya - who was still smiling - looked up at his friend with a curious look. Todoroki returned the look, but regretted it as when he looked into those emerald eyes once again, he found himself lost in them for a moment. Why were so many features about Midoriya suddenly standing out to him, taking him by surprise and distracting him?

"I'm surprised, Todoroki-kun." Midoriya glanced away briefly. "You never really joke around like that. Don't get me wrong! It was funny!" He seemed frantic to correct himself, then smiled. "But I'm glad to see you come out of your shell more, if that makes any sense? Especially with our other classmates. I know how hard that can be, making friends and being social..." He went quiet as he began to ramble a little. "It might be a bit too much to say, but, w-well... I'm proud of you. For letting yourself really be a part of the class." He was hesitant, worried about what Todoroki's response could be, but his smile couldn't be wider.

He couldn't quite explain what happened next. His mind went into some sort of mild meltdown. Midoriya was so kind and *cute*- oh god, not again. He felt some heat radiate from his left side as he became increasingly nervous. How could he respond to something so considerate? He can't just say "thank you". Midoriya deserves more than just that, no matter how much he wants to just blurt it out and get this over with. What can he say-

His eyes widened as he noticed Midoriya start to walk beside him a little closer than before. They were about two feet apart earlier, and now Midoriya was toeing the line over his personal space bubble. He didn't particularly mind, he trusted the freckled boy, but... It definitely surprised him. The shock of it may have made him accidentally increase the temperature, but he had a feeling he knew why Midoriya did this, so he didn't calm his Quirk. He just averted eye contact as best he could.

_Warm_, Midoriya thought as he approached his friend. He was wary of personal space, he knew that Todoroki was conscious of people being too near to him or touching him, understandably. But the weather was getting colder and having a walking source warmth next to him would help bear with the cold. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even consider possibly violating anyone's personal space, let alone Todoroki's, but he was in a cheerful mood and Todoroki seemed especially social today. Maybe he wouldn't mind.

And he didn't. After around two minutes of walking together in silence, the human heater looked to his left and saw that even though Midoriya' right side was being heated, his left hand was in his pocket from the cold. A strong wind blew and he noticed Midoriya shiver. "Here," Todoroki spoke up, held out his arm to stop Midoriya from walking, then moved in front of him to Midoriya's left. He then changes his Quirk to radiate heat from his right - thankfully he in control and wouldn't make himself catch on fire. Midoriya's cheeks then grew red, not from the heat, however.

_He_ _noticed. _Midoriya worried, panicking a little, praying that Todoroki wasn't mad at him. Then he noticed Todoroki bridge the gap between them and the sides of their arms touched as they walked. He glanced at Midoriya's face, then felt especially brave - Todoroki put his arm completely around his friend as they walked, wanting to ensure that he was completely warm. Midoriya felt his cheeks flush even more as he struggled not to drop his bag of groceries. Todoroki, for a moment, thought that he made his face radiate heat - but that wasn't his Quirk. He was blushing also.

Why... Why does being physically close to someone make his heart beat so quickly? He just... He doesn't understand. Normally someone touching him would feel wrong, and scary… But with Midoriya, it feels right, somehow...

"Thank you, Todoroki-kun." The freckled hero mumbled, feeling shy yet very appreciative. The cold wouldn't bother him any more thanks to the heat.

Todoroki, heart pounding, felt the smallest of smiles on his lips. He was glad he could do something for his close friend. "It's no problem, Midoriya-kun." He liked saying 'kun'. It was only for Midoriya, though. No one else gets that title. He might've imagined it, but he could've sworn he felt Midoriya almost cuddle into him.

Only to have the peaceful moment ruined by a villain attack.

A young couple right in front of them was all of a sudden blown away by a massive, unnatural gust of wind coming from an alleyway. The man's head hit the concrete roughly. A hooded figure appeared from the alley, ran towards them, snatched the woman's purse after striking her with a rough blow, and ran.

Midoriya felt the power of One For All course through him. He dropped the groceries, the grape medicine's seal breaking as it leaked everywhere all over the sidewalk, spreading its sickly sweet smell. He spared a moment to look up at Todoroki, whose gaze was cold.

Then they both charged.


	3. Chapter Three - Ray of Sunshine

**A/N: Enjoy some fluff before we get into the deeper plot. Also, my beta didn't have the chance to to read this before I posted it, so there may be a few mistakes. I also had to post it from my phone so the line breaks aren't appearing correctly. Apologies!**

**As well, reviews will he answered at the end of chapters. Thank you for all your favourites and follows!**

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The villain was impossibly fast. At first, they ran, but when they noticed they were being chased, began using their Quirk and blew gusts of winds from their mouth to escape faster.

Todoroki could always try and match the villain's speed by using his ice to propel himself forward, but he decided against it. There were too many civilians and buildings around. He couldn't risk destruction to get the villain. So, as much as he didn't like leaving her Midoriya alone to fight, he knew he could trust him to do the job well and remained in place. He made ice barriers appear in front of the villain all along the visible road in hopes they would stop them in their tracks. Unfortunately, the wind villain seemed to take a forceful blow when hitting the ice, but just blew over it and continued along their path, the stolen purse in their grasp.

Instead, Todoroki chose to check on the couple. The man had been knocked out from a blow to the concrete, and more than likely had a concussion. He quickly dialed emergency services as he picked the man up and placed him against the building and out of the way, then asked interested pedestrians to please step back and give the injured some space. He then created small two feet tall ice barricades around the couple as he checked the man's pulse and breathing. He then turned to the woman, who had a black eye and a bruise, but was otherwise just shocked and disoriented. Todoroki made a small chunk of ice on his hand and held it against the woman's face to numb the pain. "Are you alright, ma'am? Are you able to see and speak clearly?"

Midoriya was doing well with pursuing the villain. He used the ice walls as a platform to kick off of and chase them more effectively. He was gaining on the villain, but he noticed the lack of ice walls as they became further away from Todoroki. He pushed One For All up to fifteen percent and used the burst of speed to catch up to the villain at the expense of making his legs ache. With one final kick, he resisted the wind being blown at him, reached out and grasped the villain's hood, stopping them completely in their tracks. The villain blew wind out at random, trying to get away, but despite his exhaustion, Midoriya was **not** letting go.

The police arrived and arrested the criminal. Midoriya had rushed over to the woman and returned her purse, smiling when he saw the ice she held over her eye. She admitted that she didn't even have any money in the purse, that her boyfriend had his wallet in his back pocket, but Midoriya shakes his head. "Stealing anything is a crime, miss, but injuring others and running away isn't right, either. I hope you and your boyfriend get better soon." The man had woken up and thanked Midoriya and Todoroki as much as he could, but he fumbled over his words and appeared confused and dizzy, so he was taken to the hospital. The police demanded for Midoriya's and Todoroki's hero licenses, and the duo were happy to show them. After some praise from the police, the two retrieved their groceries, only to see Midoriya's bag full of the chips and medicine was a disgusting, purple mess.

Midoriya wasn't going to let Uraraka down, and he certainly wasn't returning without medicine for Mineta. "He may be a pervert, Todoroki-kun, but he's still our friend and classmate." He advised him after seeing his friend's disappointing look. It didn't take long to return to the store and buy the items yet again - Todoroki offered to pay, but the green curls shook from side to side in refusal and paid themselves.

They repeated the same motions as earlier. Midoriya had shivered again and eyed him, expectant but not demanding, and Todoroki obliged without a problem. Now his friend wasn't cold, and there wasn't a villain in sight. Todoroki was nervous, but pleased. After the initial shock, he thought it felt nice. "Hey, Todoroki-kun..." Midoriya began, his voice shy but still cheerful-sounding. "That was really smart, what you did. Staying with the woman and putting ice on her eye."

Todoroki couldn't help but offer a small smile, looking down at the freckled face he was starting to appreciate more and more. "Thanks. I don't know what you did with your Quirk, but I know you did some sort of speedup." He paused for a moment, going to ask more about how he did it, but realized something. "Midoriya-kun, what is your Quirk even called? I don't remember you ever mentioning it." Todoroki's tone was oddly sceptical and Midoriya froze, his legs unmoving.

"U-um, that's... It's um, a bit complicated, you see, i-it's called... n-nothing! I don't have a n-name for it!" He exclaimed suddenly, stammering, and Todoroki didn't buy a word. Annoyed, the fire and ice user sighed, wishing he could let go of the shorter teen to show he was mad with being lied to, but he couldn't bring himself to let him be cold again.

_Someday, Todoroki-kun... Hopefully, someday I can tell you…_

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"What took you two so long?" A voice startled the pair, and they then realized that Hagakure was directly in front of them. "And why are you in such rough shape!?" Her sleeves shaped into what could only be assumed to be arms crossing. Hagakure's yelling attracted Uraraka, who slinked along the ceiling. She seemed ill from using her Quirk, a streamer caught in her air, but her smile was nothing but positive. "Thanks, guys! What happened, though?" He expression shifted into concern as she saw Midoriya's flushed cheeks and shaken-up exterior. He also seemed to ever slightly limp as he walked.

"There was a villain." Todoroki said simply as he picked up Midoriya's bag, took out the medicine and handed it to him, then walked into the common room to lay down the snacks and drinks on one of the foldable tables. He was surprised to see the large assortment of decorations set up. She really had gone all out for this party.

Meanwhile, both girls were forcing Midoriya for details. "Deku-kun! Don't go see Mineta-san yet! You can't just say you fought a villain and not tell us anything else!" Uraraka complained, and Hagakure nodded in agreement. Nobody would have known this if she didn't have a headband on today. Midoriya filled them in as quickly as possible, then excused himself politely. "I need to make sure Mineta-san gets his medicine!"

After hearing the commotion, it didn't take long for most of the class to be in Todoroki's face, demanding what happened. It seemed they were eager to hear about what it was like to deal with an actual villain. He kept their interest for a while, but there wasn't a whole lot to share. They saw the villain attack, he ran, they pursued. Todoroki's face flushed slightly when someone asked why they had taken so long to react to the attack, which didn't go unnoticed by some classmates. He was saved by the alarm going off on Uraraka's phone, signalling the beginning of the party.

Everyone dispersed and began partying - socializing, having snacks, and dancing. Mineta seemed well enough to come down and hang out. Midoriya told him to stay on the couch and to let him know if he needed anything. Iida rushed over and began to lecture Mineta on things he was allowed to do and things he wasn't, wanting to ensure his health. Before long, Todoroki found his quiet couch along the wall taken up but the freckled boy.

"Crazy day today, wasn't it Todoroki-kun?" He spoke up, bringing up his legs onto the cough to cross them comfortably. "We did great with that villain earlier. And Uraraka-san is happy we were able to help out, and Mineta-san seems to be getting better already. If you think about it, we saved four people today, didn't we?" Todoroki was then met with one of Midoriya's trademark brilliant smiles. He felt his defences begin to crumble.

_Five_, Todoroki thought to himself. _I can say for sure that Midoriya has saved me from a life of bitterness and holding back. And today, he's made me see even more just how... How warm he can be. Even though I had to heat him up, he felt so warm. And he made me feel kind of warm, too._

He hesitated. "Yeah, it was nice." Todoroki said blankly, averting his eyes. Midoriya has been giving him strange feelings lately, and until he understood and accepted whatever they were, he wanted to suppress them as much as possible. They were making him think and act differently, which made him worry. If Midoriya could make Todoroki feel so warm, friendly, open… Was this a weakness? Did he need to hide this from his father? Did he need to stop being around Midoriya, who felt like a ray of sunshine, just so to protect him from all of his baggage?

Those glittering green eyes gazed at him for a moment, knowing something was wrong, but Midoriya sighed. He certainly wasn't going to get Todoroki to spill anything easily. And with whatever happened earlier, he had expected some sort of setback. Midoriya was as confused as could be, and he had no doubts that Todoroki wouldn't be far from the same.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, earlier, Todoroki-kun. If it's that bad, you can forget it ever happened." Midoriya fumbled with his fingers, nervous. "I don't want it to affect our friendship or anything."

"No! I, um, I liked it." Todoroki exclaimed quickly, surprised at himself for speaking so erratically. "I... It surprised me, but I don't want to forget. Don't worry about it, Midoriya-kun."

It was at that moment as he saw Midoriya's smile and dimples, surfaced with adorable freckles, Todoroki realized; it was going to be hard to restrain himself from getting entranced by Midoriya from now on.

And as Aoyama, fleeting as ever, passed by the smiling friends on his way to the vegetable tray, he smiled knowingly. _That's going to turn into something very interesting. I just know it._

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**RikouHikari: **Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)


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